Why clone?

If there were only one kind of music on earth, life would be pretty drab, wouldn't it? So why would we want to produce the same organisms over and over again?

Human cloning

Several reasons have been given for continuing work on human cloning. One of the key reasons is that human cloning could make available stem cells that may repair damaged or diseased organs and tissues. It may eventually offer help for couples who can't have children, or make it possible to reproduce a person that has died. But would that person really be the same? Hmm...! So far, no human being has been cloned.

Animal cloning

Dr. Lawrence Smith and Starbuck II.

Dr. Lawrence Smith and three cloned calves.

The cloning of animals lets us replicate exceptional characteristics, such as those of a bull that has great reproductive value, or those of a transgenic animal. Animal models are frequently used to study human disease. Often, the animals are genetically engineered to carry disease-causing mutations in their genes. By cloning these animals, scientists would have access to a genetically identical population, which would benefit their research.

Pandas.

Dodo bird.

	• Genetic disorders   • Cloning and stem cells   • Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)   • DNA detectives
	In this section: What is a clone? The art of cloning Why clone? Cloning endangered species What are stem cells?
	Conceptual image of human cloning.

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